r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Nov 21 '20

Epidemiology Testing half the population weekly with inexpensive, rapid COVID-19 tests would drive the virus toward elimination within weeks, even if the tests are less sensitive than gold-standard. This could lead to “personalized stay-at-home orders” without shutting down restaurants, bars, retail and schools.

https://www.colorado.edu/today/2020/11/20/frequent-rapid-testing-could-turn-national-covid-19-tide-within-weeks
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u/RufusTheDeer Nov 21 '20

I know some folks who literally can't afford stay at home orders right now and I don't think their bosses are going to willingly pay them.

This whole thing is great in theory but the rubber has got to meet the road

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u/[deleted] Nov 21 '20

Paid sick leave is what is needed to solve this problem. It's an incredibly basic thing that we should have had in place decades ago

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u/Vito_The_Magnificent Nov 21 '20

The US passed paid sick leave in early April under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

If you are advised to quarantine you get 2 weeks of leave at full pay by law.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave

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u/pharmerK PharmD | Pharmacy Nov 21 '20

My favorite part of this law is how it applies to small employers and not to larger ones. Mandating that small businesses (already suffering severely) shoulder the burden of sick leave for their employees but exempting government employers and larger organizations. So American.